Advanced Techniques used to Study the Effect of Synthetic Pesticides on Soil Health and Sustainability: A Review

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is a key global crop, crucial to economies and agricultural sustainability. However, cotton farming faces significant challenges from pests like bollworms and aphids, often controlled using synthetic pesticides, which raise concerns over soil health and environmental sustainability. Synthetic pesticides are effective against pests, but also impact beneficial soil microbes, reducing microbial diversity and altering ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling and disease suppression. The study summarized the different methods to calculate the impact of pesticide on soil microbial systems and also discussed the challenges for such work. We compiled the advanced techniques involved in sequencing as well as the various bioinformatic tools to calculate the diversity and variance among samples. Similarly discussed the functional aspect of metagenomics to identify the gene responsible for degradation of pesticide. These techniques help to identify the aspect of sustainable agriculture with respect to synthetic pesticides. Identification of pesticide degrading enzymes and utilization of these enzymes for clearing the environment and sustainable agriculture are the prime objectives of this study. Overall this review discusses the aspect of pesticides and its effect on the environment as well as the method available for degradation. This review will be helpful for planning such a study for similar pesticides.